Here's the latest news

     In reader’s workshop we have begun writing personal narratives.  Students have created timelines of their stories and spent time developing interesting leads.  We are working on focusing on a small period of time and describing it deeply.

     Students continue to work hard on math using IXL.  They have completed over 30,000 math problems this year!   Here is another great website they can use to practice using a protractor to measure angles, and another where they can have fun while studying the properties of polygons.

     We are wrapping up our study of simple machines by looking at how the design process works.  We will be building go-carts in class using the design process.  After that we will begin our study of matter.

     The children are creating posters to demonstrate their understanding of Incan culture.  Look for pictures of these on the blog soon.  We will finish the ancient civilization unit by studying the Aztecs.

    The Living Wax Museum is creeping up on us.  Please make sure that your child has written and 

memorized a speech that includes all important information about their character, created a poster with a biopoem and pictures, and has a simple costume to wear that represents their person from history.  We hope you will join us when they present on November 8^th.

Simple machines

Students worked very hard this week studying for the Mayan test as well as the unit 2 math test.  They demonstrated a good knowledge of the concepts taught.  Here is a terrific website to help them study for the simple machine test they will take next week.

Math fun

Mr. Kelly, our math CET, has passed along some free apps for playing math games.  This sounds like a great way to practice math while having some fun.

The publisher of Everyday Mathematics, McGraw-Hill is once again offering five of its ten EM game Apps for free on the following dates:
October 10-12
October 24-26
November 28-30
 
The following apps will be free and available via the iTunes App Store:
Addition Top-It
Monster Squeeze
Equivalent Fractions
Beat the Computer
Divisibility Dash


NOTE:Android apps will be 1/2 price.


To learn more about the game apps go to [ https://www.mheonline.com/apps/ ]https://www.mheonline.com/apps/ 

Indoor recess and free time - not the same thing

We have had a lot of indoor recess over the past few weeks due to the rainy weather.  Here are some pictures to show you what that looks like in our classroom.  I am experimenting with taking pictures with my tablet, so please excuse the lack of clarity in many of the shots.

Some of these activities are also done during 10 minutes of free time each day.  Ten minutes a day is a lot of instruction time to give up each day.  Think about it; that is almost an hour a week!  How do I justify that? 

I justify it by making sure that during those 10 minutes each day, Mrs. Duhamel and I spend the time working with someone who needs a little something extra.  If you send in a note that your child did not understand their homework or something on a test, we will probably go over that information during free time.  It is not meant as a punishment, but as an opportunity to provide extra instruction on a confusing topic.  If someone has a difficult time keeping up with class work, they will be given that time to work on it. Again, this is not to punish someone for working slowly, but to give them a little extra time to catch up. 

Over the course of the school year, all of your children will have worked with the teachers at some point during free time.  Please understand that free time is not an extra recess, but rather an additional learning time during which some children receive one-on-one or small group instruction. I like to think of this time as a chance to give students something extra, not a chance to take something away from them.

Time has been flying, so we must be having fun!

The students and I were talking today about how quickly the month of September has gone.  It seems like we just got back to school, and yet one tenth of our year is already completed!  September has been a very busy month in room 23.  We have spent a lot of time in class establishing routines for Reader’s and Writer’s Workshops.  The children have an excellent understanding of how to choose just right books, and most have built their stamina to read for at least 30 minutes without stopping.   They have also created many seed ideas for future writing projects.  We have started studying simple machines in science, and in social studies we have begun learning about the Mayan civilization. 

The children have been working hard on math skills with the IXL program and have already spent a total of 79 hours and 19 minutes performing 14,973 problems!  All of this time has been spent at home, and is a clear testament to their strong work ethic.  Some of the concepts that we have covered in class that can be reinforced through IXL are place value (sections A.1 and A.4), decimals (sections C.1, C.2, and C.3), addition and subtraction (sections D.1, D.2, D.3, D.4, and D.10), addition and subtraction of decimals (E.1 and E.2), and number theory (sections K.1, K.2, K.3, K.4, and K.5).

The Living Wax Museum will be assigned next week.  Please look for the guidelines in your child’s folder, and help them choose a biography that is written at their reading level, and is interesting to them.  The date of our presentation will be Thursday, November 8, 2012.  I look forward to seeing you all then.

Welcome back

Welcome to the Room 23 blog.  I like to use this tool to communicate what is going on in the classroom, offer you sneak peeks into the classroom via pictures, and pass along tips that will help your child be successful in fifth grade.
It has been a pleasure getting to know your children over the past couple of weeks.  They are a happy, cooperative group who have already demonstrated an excellent work ethic.  I am excited to think about the growth they will experience over the next ten months!
One of the things that I will be speaking with you about at Curriculum Night on Thursday is building excitement about books.  I have numerous ways that I will attempt to do this in the classroom, including offering senior citizen reading partners and book buddies, challenging your child to read books so that they can vote for the Massachusetts Children's Book Award for 2013, as well as ordering from Scholastic Books.  If you would like to order online you can click here to connect to their website.
There is a great deal of additional information to pass along to you at Curriculum Night.  I look forward to meeting you all then.

Winding down

As you know, tomorrow is the Fifth Grade Celebration.  It is promising to be a hot day, so please make sure your child dresses appropriately and applies sunscreen before coming to school.

As we all look forward to relaxing and having fun, I have a few tips to encourage your child to continue learning throughout the summer.  A packet will be going home with your child this week that has lots of learning activities that can be used to chase away any summer boredom.  Below is a list taken from the Reading is Fundamental website with lots of fun activities that have learning embedded in them.  Enjoy!

Week 1: Celebrate summer

• Write a list of things you want to do this summer. Don't forget to include reading!
• Make a chart to keep track of all the books you read this summer.
• Write down on your calendar the time the sun sets today.
• Start a summer scrapbook. Include souvenirs of any trips you take, photos, ticket stubs, and projects you work on during the summer.
• List all the books by your favorite author. See how many you can read this summer.
• Swap books with a friend. Keep sharing books throughout summer.
• Take a walk. Write about or draw the things you see that show summer is here.

Week 2: Keep in touch

• Make a personal phone book. List phone numbers and addresses of your friends and relatives.
• Design your own stationery and write a letter to a friend.
• Start a journal with a friend or relative. Take turns writing in it all summer long. You can even do this by mail or e-mail.
• Write a letter to your favorite author. A librarian can help you find a postal or e-mail address.
• Draw a picture postcard of an imaginary place. On the back, write a message. Mail it to a friend or relative or put it in your scrapbook.
• The first U.S. postage stamps were designed in 1847. Be a philatelist. Design your own stamp.
• Word game! Invent a code (A=1, B=2, for example). Send a message in code to a friend.

Week 3: Discover recipes for fun

• List all the ice cream flavors you can think of. Now put them in A-BC order.
• Invent a recipe for a cool summer drink. Write it on a recipe card. Serve the drink to your friends.
• Go to the library and find a cookbook. Make the most interesting dish in the book.
• Read the directions on a box of gelatin. Ask a parent if you can help make dessert tonight.
• Work up an appetite by reading a story about food. Make and eat the food you read about.
• Word game! How many smaller words can you find in the word watermelon?

Week 4: Travel the world

• If you are going on a family vacation this summer, read about your trip. Mark your travel route on a map.
• Pretend you are going to visit another city, state, or country with a friend or relative. Write to the tourist bureau for more information. If you plan to visit a foreign country, write to the embassy. Visit the library and find books about the place you want to visit. Or search online for information. Plan your itinerary – and don't forget to check the weather!
• Pick an important news event from another city, state, or country. Find as much information on the topic as possible – read newspapers, listen to the radio, and watch TV news. Talk about what you learned.
• Word game! Look for out-of-state license plates. Make a list of all the state names and slogans. Decide which ones you like the best. Ask friends and relatives which are their favorites.

Week 5: Enjoy the great outdoors

• Pick wildflowers and press them between the pages of a heavy book until the end of summer.
• Plan a backyard camping trip with a friend. List all the things you will need to survive.
• Plan a family 'booknic' at your favorite outdoor spot, such as the beach, a park, or the woods. Pack lunch and plenty to read.
• Collect shells at the beach or rocks along a trail. Use a nature guide to identify them.
• Find something small enough to put in your pocket. Write or tell a story about it.
• Look for shapes and designs in the clouds. Draw them.
• Word game! Make a list of words to describe fireworks.

Week 6: Visit fun places

• An animal has escaped from the zoo! Make up a story about it. Tell it to a friend or family member – or write it down. Add pictures, if you'd like.
• What museums are close to your house? Are there any old, historic buildings in the area? Find these places on a map. Find out what is on exhibit at the museums and why the old buildings are important.
• Go back in time and pretend you lived in – or did business in – the oldest building in your area. Write a story about how you spent your time.
• Make a list of zoo animals. Sort them by different categories, such as type of animal (mammals, fish, etc.) or coloring (green, brown, striped, etc.).
• Visit the zoo with friends or relatives and find the animals on your list.
• Visit a museum or historical building with friends or relatives. Write a list of things you see that you didn't expect.
• Word game! Think of the softest animal or the oldest thing you've ever touched. Write a poem about it, but don't use the word soft or old.

Week 7: Become a publisher

• Make your own joke book. Collect jokes and riddles from your family and friends.
• Cut out pictures from an old magazine or catalog. Write a story about them.
• Create a rebus story (a story that uses pictures to represent words). Write a short story, and then substitute pictures (that you draw or cut out) for some of the words.
• Start a round-robin story. Write the beginning, then ask friends to add to it until it has an ending.

Week 8: Watch the skies

• Learn what birds live in your area. (Birds are described in books called Field Guides.) Wake up early to go bird watching and list the birds you see.
• Which constellations can you see on a clear summer night? Look at the sky using a star guide to help you find the constellations.
• People have been looking at the skies for generations. Ask a grandparent or a much older friend to tell you a story about his or her childhood.
• The first UFO was reported in 1947. Read a science fiction book in honor of it.
• Word game! Baseballs also fly through the sky in summer. Find a list of baseball teams in the sports section of the newspaper. Put them in A-B-C order.

Week 9: Design something big

• Invent a tool to help you do chores more easily. Draw a picture of it or make it from some old junk.
• Read aloud the names of some of the cars in the classified section of your newspaper. Design a new car and name it.
• Walk around your neighborhood and look at the houses. Design a house that would best suit your lifestyle.
• Design your own board game and write the rules.
• Everything we use was designed by someone. Start a collection of things you like, or add to a collection you already have. Use a guide to learn the value of your collection.

Week 10: Honor summer's end

• Remember the wildflowers you pressed between the pages of a heavy book? Remove them, and put them in your summer scrapbook or paste them on heavy paper to make a bookmark.
• Review the chart you made to track the books you read this summer. Pick new books to read.
• Notice what time the sun sets today. Compare it to the time the sun set during week one.
• Make a list of the supplies you need for school. Start shopping.
• Plan an end-of-summer celebration. Write a list of the 10 best things you did this summer. Design a menu of your favorite summer treats.
• Word game! Summer days are the longest days of the year. List the longest words you know.